NAB to file reference according to guideline of Supreme Court: Imtiaz Tajwar

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Imtiaz Tajwar Wednesday said NAB would file A reference of the Panama Papers case according to the guideline of Supreme Court.

Speaking at a press conference here alongwith Prosecutor General NAB Waqas Qadeer Dar, he said NAB had recorded the statement of chief of Joint Investigation Team (JIT) Wajid Zia and the reference would be filed as per time given by the Supreme Court.

Talking about acquittal of Pakistan People’s Party chairman Asif Ali Zardari by an accountability court, he said Ehtesab Bureau first filed the reference against Asif Zardari in 1988.

Later, the case was transferred to NAB which was created in 2001. NAB filed a supplementary reference and collected record and evidence from local and foreign sources.

The NAB officials said the responsibility of missing record in the case did not fall on NAB as one official related to the case had died while the other was not available after a lapse of so many years.

At one time the case was put off after passage of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), they added.

They said members of Sharif family submitted required record to the JIT and Supreme Court and NAB served notices on them.

It was told that out of 1,762 decided cases filed by it, NAB had achieved conviction in 889 cases of corruption which showed a conviction rate of about 51 percent.

The Bureau had completed about 6,300 inquiries, of which 56 percent matured into formal investigation and more than 80 percent investigations were taken to stage of prosecution in courts of law.

The Deputy Chairman NAB said conviction was very difficult in cases of white collar crime but still NAB won many cases in Accountability Courts and High Courts.

Tajwar said NAB respected all institutions and political parties, adding media had the right to criticise but it should also focus on the achievements of NAB. – APP Tweet